The AR rifle platform is used for many variations of rifles for both military and sporting applications, and was originated by the Fairchild Armalite corporation (hence “AR”) in the late 1950s. It has since been produced in several different variations and calibers. One military variant, the M4 carbine, is a standard issue rifle for troops, and includes a select fire or fully automatic fire capability. Conversely, most civilian AR rifle variants are limited to semi-automatic fire capability. One prominent characteristic of the AR rifle is the magazine well. The magazine well is formed in the lower receiver in front of the trigger, and protrudes downward from the top portion of the lower receiver, where it mates with the upper receiver, and includes features for retaining a magazine so as to feed ammunition into the action contained in the upper receiver.
Although AR rifles typically have a handguard located along the barrel of the rifle, forward of the upper and lower receivers to allow an operator to hold the rifle with their non-trigger arm, operators often find it convenient to place their non-trigger hand on the front of the magazine well. This is especially true for certain shooting maneuvers that require quickly redirecting the rifle (e.g. “close quarters battle,” or CQB, sport shooting events, etc.). Holding on the front of the magazine well shortens the effective pivot radius at which the forward hand drives the aim of the rifle. However, holding the rifle at the front of the magazine well is thought to be a potential source of operating issues with the rifle, particularly with ammunition feeding properly from the magazine into the action. It is thought that rearward pressure from the hand on a magazine, when holding the front of the magazine well, can cause some magazines to tilt or cant in the magazine well to an extent that the topmost cartridges in the magazine are not properly aligned when the bolt cycles. As a result, miss-feeds can occur as the bolt cycles forward, preventing chambering of the cartridge, and requiring the operator to clear the malfunction, losing time and a round of ammunition in the process.
Accordingly, there is a need for way to allow operators to grip at the location of the front of the magazine well without potentially inducing cartridge feeding issues that can otherwise occur in AR rifles while allowing servicing of the rifle.
Those skilled in the field of the present disclosure will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of embodiments of the present invention.
The apparatus and method components have been represented where appropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present invention so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein. The details of well-known elements, structure, or processes that would be necessary to practice the embodiments, and that would be well known to those of skill in the art, are not necessarily shown and should be assumed to be present unless otherwise indicated.